New Player
by Wild Force Ranger
Summary: There's a new Player in town...and Henry's not happy about it. Loosely mid-season, no spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a revamp of my earlier Tara Chronicles. You don't need to know anything about them to read this.

Chapter One

* * *

The thing Vicki kept forgetting was that Henry was fallible.

He made it easy to forget, usually. Protective without smothering her, charming without being too smooth, flirting without intent or hurt feelings, reeling off information about their supernatural opponents. It was easy to forget, in the midst of all that, that even Henry didn't know everything; that even five hundred years hadn't shown him everything the world contained.

It didn't happen often, of course. Henry had travelled the worlds, both human and supernatural, and he had at least a superficial knowledge of most things—knowledge Coreen was always happy to build on.

But just occasionally, even five hundred years of experience wasn't enough.

It wasn't even a case, at first. The winter weather seemed to have frozen most of the supernatural community along with the streets and water pipes. Vicki's caseload shifted away from demons and towards missing persons and adulterers; there were whole cases she worked without Henry ever becoming involved.

Celebrating the closing of one such case, she let Henry take her out to dinner. The meal passed with nothing more dangerous than a little light flirting, so naturally disaster had to strike.

On the way back to Henry's car he stopped suddenly, head tilted to one side.

"What?" Vicki murmured, glancing around.

"Blood," he muttered. "A fight." He vanished abruptly towards the nearest alley; Vicki followed, flicking out her baton as she heard a crash.

"Careful." Henry was suddenly at her shoulder. "It's wall to wall ice down here."

"What's going on?" She peered past him, trying to sort out the shadows.

"Mugging."

"Victim?"

"He's breathing."

"And the perp?"

She could hear the smirk when he answered. "Also breathing."

Vicki stepped past him, crouching by the victim. "God, he's just a boy."

"He's losing blood," Henry pointed out. "Maybe you should call for help?"

"Yeah." She pulled out her phone, squinting as she hit the speed dial.

"Tao!" A woman in her early twenties barrelled around the corner into the alley, skidding wildly. Henry automatically caught her arm to steady her.

There were several very blurred seconds; Vicki was fairly certain she didn't really want to remember any of them. When her vision steadied she was crouching on one side of the alley, Henry standing protectively over her; the woman was standing in front of the boy, watching them, while between them Mike yelled uselessly from her phone.

"Vicki," Henry said; vamped, he was vamped, and why wouldn't her thoughts settle? "Move towards the street."

She took one step and almost went down, the ice too thick for her. Henry steadied her without looking away from the girl in front of them. "What are you?" he demanded.

She laughed softly. "Oh, is _that_ ever the wrong place to start." Crouching, she scooped up Vicki's phone and hung up on Mike, tossing it to Henry. He caught it without looking and passed it back to Vicki, watching as the stranger laid a hand on the boy's arm.

He gasped in a sudden breath, arching off the ground, and she pushed back to her feet. "Tao?"

"Yeah," he murmured, running a shaky hand through his hair. He flinched when he hit the lump; she glanced down at him for an instant, sympathy twisting her face before she looked back at Henry. "What's going on?" Tao added.

"We're leaving." She held out a hand, pulling him effortlessly to his feet and bracing him until he got his balance. "Don't worry," she added more loudly, the words aimed at Henry this time. "We're not hunting anything here."

"Henry," Vicki said softly. His hand tightened warningly on her arm.

Tao looked up, seeming to register them for the first time. "What's…"

"Shush. We have to go." Shifting her grip on Tao's arm, she pushed him gently towards the street.

The phone in Vicki's hand rang suddenly; she glanced down, frowning, and when she looked back up they were alone. Even the mugger had vanished at some point.

"Answer it," Henry told her, crossing the alley. "Tell the good detective you're alright."

It only took a minute to get rid of Mike—_sorry, Mike, I must've hit the button by accident; no, I'm not drunk dialing_—and she joined Henry. "What's going on?"

Henry caught her wrist, tugging gently until she crouched and then pressing her hand against the ground. "Feel that?"

"It's warm," Vicki said with a frown. "There are no pipes here. Why would it be warm?"

"This is where Tao was lying." Henry let go of her wrist, dipping his finger in a spot of blood.

"Ok." Vicki leaned on his shoulder as she stood. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

"That creature was magic. Not a magic user, not a witch. Magic in human form." He took her elbow, leading her out of the alley.

"Creature. You mean the boy or the girl?"

"It's not a girl. I don't know what it is, but it's no more a girl than you are a vampire."

The street was deserted. Vicki collapsed the baton she'd somehow managed to hold onto through everything. "What about the boy?"

He unlocked the car, holding the door for her. "The boy was human. Although there's something off about him, too."

She shifted as he got in. "Do you think she knew what you are?"

He sat for a moment, staring through the windscreen. "She definitely knew what I am."

***

Coreen was, for once, late coming in the next morning. Vicki didn't blame her; they hadn't exactly been rushed lately.

"Hey! Sorry. I practically had to skate here."

"Not a problem." Vicki passed her a coffee. "That might be cold by now, though. Listen, I need you to look something up for me."

"Sure. A case?"

"No. Call it idle curiosity."

"Alright. What do you know?"

"Not much." She summarized the encounter.

Coreen nodded slowly when she was done. "You said she called the boy Tao?"

"Yeah. He wasn't really a boy, though, more like nineteen or twenty. Why?"

"Not sure yet. It rings a bell, though. Let me work on it?"

"Sure." Vicki glanced at the window; it was sleeting heavily. "Take your time. I don't think we're going to be busy."

Coreen was still studying when Henry arrived that evening, stalking past her without speaking. Alarmed, she went after him in time to hear him say angrily, "It's all gone."

"What is?" Vicki asked warily.

"Everything. The blood, their scent, all of it. It's as if they were never there."

"We _saw_ them," Vicki protested.

"Yes. But now there's nothing there." He dropped onto Vicki's couch.

Vicki looked past him. "Coreen?"

"It's not much," she said apologetically, leaning backwards to snag the book she'd been reading off her desk. "Tao is a hereditary name, applied to the…well, the nearest translation is something like high priest."

"High priest of what?" Henry asked, sitting forward.

"Well, that's the problem. It doesn't say. There's no name, no description of rituals or powers, nothing. It just says that Tao is the…" She gestured vaguely. "High priest figure. The group doesn't even have a name. But it does say the group is ancient and the being they serve is older than that, so…"

"Group?" Vicki repeated. "There are others?"

"Titles." Coreen flipped the book, passing it to Henry.

"Warrior, Mage, Hunter," he read. "Bard, Councillor."

"Well, you wouldn't want to be a maladjusted secret group," Vicki muttered.

"Not that kind of councillor. More like an advisor." He kept reading, but if there were other names he didn't call them out.

"Henry, it reads like the jobs list at your father's court." Henry shrugged, closing the book and laying it aside. "That's all you found?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, but whoever these guys are they're not big on advertising."

Vicki started to answer and cut herself off when Henry rose. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Henry…"

"I have to talk to some…people."

"Oh? The kind of significant pause people who might know something about our mysterious group?"

Henry sighed. "I don't suppose there's any point in asking you to stay here?"

"You're learning," Coreen murmured.

"No," Vicki said evenly, ignoring Coreen.

"Then listen to me. The…" He smirked. "Significant pause people we're going to see are dangerous, so you'll need to listen to me. If I say don't speak, you don't speak, if I say run, you'll run. Understand?"

"Yes."

He caught her wrist, studying her. "Yes?"

"Yes, Henry. I hear you." She twisted out of his grip. "Coreen, keep trying, ok?"

Coreen nodded quickly, skipping back out of the doorway as Henry brushed by. Vicki followed on his heels, determined not to be left behind.

***

Despite his words Henry refused to let her join him at their first stop, a cemetery just within the city limits. Vicki leaned against the car, waiting semi-patiently until he came back to join her.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Come on. We have more places to visit."

The second time he stopped she got out of the car before he could tell her to wait. Henry smirked, leading her into a bookshop, but the conversation with the old man at the counter was in French and she couldn't follow it.

"Are you going to tell me anything?" she asked when Henry took her arm to guide her back out.

"Safer if I don't. The less you know about these people, the better." He glanced at the sky. "Come on. One more visit tonight."

"Then what?"

"Then we do it again tomorrow."

"Oh, joy," she muttered, sitting into the car.

Henry slammed her door more sharply than necessary. "You don't have to come," he reminded her. "I'm perfectly capable of doing this on my own."

"Yeah, but I'm bored."

"And nosy."

"What are you gonna do." She shrugged lightly.

"Get yourself killed, if you're not careful. Vicki…" He sighed, gripping the steering wheel more tightly.

Vicki touched his shoulder, mildly surprised when he didn't shrug her off. "Hey. I'm staying quiet, right? Come on. One more visit, remember?"

***

"Ok. Not what I was expecting."

Henry smiled faintly. "What were you expecting?"

"Not a church."

He touched the statue in front of him, eyes distant. "Places like this…there's a lot of power here, Vicki."

"There's no one here."

He looked up at her. "We're here."

"Yeah. Speaking of, we're doing what here again?"

"Leaving footprints. Light a candle, please."

"A…"

"Candle," he repeated patiently. "There." He pointed to a rack of candles, mostly burned down.

Vicki threw up her hands. "Sure. Why not. Candle."

"Here." He tossed her a coin, turning back to the statue.

Vicki lit the candle, wedging it carefully in the bottom row, and turned to survey the church. "Why is it even open this late?"

"Should God keep office hours?" Henry didn't turn.

"That's not what I meant." She turned away again, studying the windows.

"You know, you two are making a lot of noise."

Both turned, Henry sliding neatly in front of Vicki, to see Tao standing by the main door. "You're upsetting a lot of people," he added. "It's unnecessary. I was going to come to you tomorrow."

"Oh?" Henry took a step forward.

"You make a lot of noise." Tao looked past him to Vicki. "Everyone in this town knows you. Victory Nelson."

"Everyone?" she repeated.

"Well, everyone we care about." He looked back at Henry. "You're making a name, too."

"Fills me with joy. What's it like, being her lackey?"

"Lackey?" Tao took a step away from the door, leaning on the back of the nearest pew.

"Isn't that what you are? I'm sorry, is 'High Priest' the correct term nowadays?" Vicki asked brightly.

"High priest. Is that the reference you're using? I thought that book was destroyed years ago. I'm not a lackey, nor a priest."

"What are you, then?" Henry asked.

"Hers. But I'm interrupting, how rude of me. Ms Nelson, I will see you soon."

"Wait," Vicki said quickly. Tao hesitated, looking over his shoulder. "Who are you?"

"Tao."

"That's not what I meant."

"It's what you get, for now. We hear things from both sides." He looked back at Henry, eyes darkening. "We hear things about you."

"What kind of things?" Henry demanded.

Tao smiled again. "All kinds of things. We'll be in touch."

He was gone before either of them could stop him; the door creaked slowly closed behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Hey!" Coreen was still up—or up again—when Vicki let herself back in, just before sunrise the next night. "Listen, I found a description of the current Tao. Nineteen, possible Asian descent, dark hair, dark eyes…"

"Sounds right," Vicki agreed, sinking into the couch. "We met him."

Coreen blinked, dropping beside her. "Where?"

"In church. He came to tell us to stop bothering people, he'll come see us some time soon."

"Here?" Coreen's eyes widened.

"He didn't say. Just pissed off Henry, said we'd see him around and ran away."

"Smart boy. Henry's not the safest person to upset."

"Smarter if he hadn't done it. That it?"

"There's one more reference, claims that the group currently consists of Tao, a Hunter and a Councillor. Her Mage, Warrior and Bard have apparently left her, and if there are others they aren't named like that."

"Nothing about her name, still? What she does? Who she is?"

"No. Nothing."

"She doesn't like to be known," Tao said from the doorway. Vicki scrambled to her feet, pulling Coreen back, and he raised his hands. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. I can leave, if you want. Come back when Henry's around."

"That might be a bad idea. He's really not fond of your boss."

Tao nodded, taking a couple of steps inside to let the door close. "It happens. But we have business in town, we'll be here a while longer, and it'll be easier if you're not making noise all around us."

"What kind of business?"

"Our kind. Supernatural." He spread his hands apologetically. "I'm not really supposed to say too much. She just wants to make sure you guys realise, we're on the same side."

Henry blurred past, throwing Tao into the nearest wall and spinning Vicki and Coreen out past him. "You ok?" he demanded, standing between them.

"Ow," Tao muttered, climbing to his feet.

"We're fine," Vicki promised quickly. "Henry, calm down. Tao just came to talk."

"You know, that's the best way to really upset her," Tao commented, touching the back of his head gingerly.

"Good. Call her," Henry snarled.

"No."

"You're not giving us anything to go on, Tao," Vicki pointed out. "We need something more than your word."

Tao considered her for a minute. "One of the Taos knew you, before you died," he said abruptly, turning to Henry. "He worked for your wife's father; he accompanied her to your court."

"Really?" Henry said carelessly. Vicki could see him struggling to hold his calm. "I don't remember that. Of course I barely saw Mary, she spent so little time at court."

"He was English. And he didn't use our name, but he knew you. And others of us have known you, over the years since." He glanced back at Vicki. "You're in high demand, you know. Astorath wants you badly."

"More bounty hunters," Henry said in disgust.

"Oh no. No, not at all. We're so far from that."

"Then tell us," Vicki said quietly.

Tao looked down for a moment before nodding. "She's a—think of her like a balancing entity. There used to be many of them, balancing different aspects of the worlds. Some of them have failed or left through the years, and the responsibilities of those who are left have grown."

"What responsibilities?" Vicki asked.

"The first Tao served the balance between people and animals. Nowadays, we also serve the balances between humans and the earth, and humans and the supernatural."

"Busy, busy," Vicki murmured.

Tao smiled faintly. "Sounds worse than it is. There are Champions who perform on her behalf. She does little of it herself; most of the balancing is accomplished simply by her existence."

"A Hunter and a Councillor, right?" Coreen said. "And you."

"She has those, yes. They're not here; she didn't think it wise to bring a Hunter anywhere near Henry. And the Councillor works overseas." He glanced at the window.

"What about the others? Warrior, Mage? And…" Vicki snapped her fingers.

"Bard," Henry supplied.

"They come and go. There are others, too." He stopped suddenly, blinking. "She's coming."

"Here?" Vicki said in surprise.

"Coreen." Henry pushed her towards the corner, shifting to cover her.

"She's not coming to hurt anyone," Tao protested, reaching back to touch his head again.

"We're supposed to take your word?" Vicki asked.

"I'm all you have." He looked past her.

Vicki turned, following his gaze, to see the woman standing in the doorway.

* * *

The alley had been too dark for Vicki to see any kind of detail, so this was really her first look at the woman, and her first thought was 'Ordinary'. Brown hair, average height, nothing really stood out; not until she met the stranger's gaze and saw the brilliant green colour, almost shining.

"You know, maybe I should just take the door off the hinges," she suggested to Henry.

"It'd make it easier to break in," the woman agreed blithely. "Tao?"

"I'm fine." He slipped past Vicki to stand beside the stranger. "I told them a little."

"Yes, I heard. It's fine."

"He didn't tell us anything useful. Like, oooh, a name?"

"I have many names."

"Then you could spare one for us."

She smiled. "Katherine. You may call me Katherine."

"Katherine. Well, that's something."

"Don't say her name," Henry said warningly.

"It's not my real name, little prince, it has no effect."

"Better safe than sorry."

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. You're going to get confused, though."

"We'll cope."

"Your choice." She looked back at Tao, frowning as she studied him. "You alright?"

"Hit my head," he admitted. "It's nothing!" he added hastily.

"I hope not. Henry's fair game if he touches you."

"Excuse me?" Vicki demanded.

Katherine turned back towards her. "Yes?" she asked politely.

"Katherine," Tao murmured.

"You and Henry…and Coreen, by extension…are serving another balance at the moment. That means I can't touch you, can't interfere with you or hamper you in any way." Henry took a step forward, and she continued evenly, "Unless you knowingly harm one of mine. Then I can do anything I want."

"That mean we can't touch yours?" Vicki asked.

"No. I am the balance. You only serve. You can't deliberately harm him, but that's all."

"We don't serve anyone," Henry snapped.

Katherine considered him for a moment. "If you say so."

"Time to go," Tao murmured, touching her arm.

"We saved Tao," Vicki reminded her. "You owe us."

"You might have saved the mugger. Tao wasn't in any danger."

"He was melting the alley with his blood!"

She smiled faintly. "You think that's what melted it?"

"I thought it was warm," Tao murmured.

"It was six below last night," Coreen protested.

"Not where he was." She glanced at Tao as though he'd spoken, making a face. "There's no way Henry's going to trust me anyway. I don't have anything else to give them."

Vicki glanced at Henry, who hadn't reacted. "You could tell us why you're here. In the city."

"I _could_," she agreed slowly. "But part of that is…not mine to tell."

"Tell the other part," Henry suggested evenly.

"Fair enough. There is a group, who work to hunt supernatural evil."

"Hunters," Henry agreed.

"No. Another group. They've been looking to station some of their people here. I have a little influence with them, enough to block them up until now. They're very insistent, though, so Tao and I came up here to do sanctioned research to prove to them that there's no need for them."

"Why not?" Coreen asked hesitantly. "I mean, all the stuff we've seen the last year…we can use all the help we can get."

"Because they will not be subservient to a vampire. Not even a royal one, not even when he has the experience they would need. They'd either freeze you out or force you out, little prince."

"Slayers," Henry muttered disgustedly. "Stop calling me that," he added.

"Slayers," she agreed. "I don't want them up here any more than you do; I'm trying to persuade them to stay away. The problem is that I can't mention you, because they will not leave a city under the protection of a Vampire. LA proved to them that wouldn't work."

"This isn't LA. We've been keeping this city clear for a year now."

Katherine grimaced. "Did you miss the part where we're on the same side? Tao and I are almost finished. Another two nights, we're done. Promise."

"No Slayers?"

"No Slayers. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Do you?" Vicki asked.

Katherine smiled, turning to Tao. "Time to go?"

"Past time." He smiled at Vicki. "We'll see you around."

"No," Henry snapped.

"And you'll stop us how, little prince?" Katherine smiled again, more dangerously this time; Henry snarled, and she just shook her head. "Stop that. We're not afraid of you."

Tao raised a hand. "I'm a little afraid."

"It's that pesky sense of mortality. You need to do something about that."

"It's sort of difficult."

"Yeah, well. I wouldn't know, would I."

Vicki turned to look at Henry; by the time she looked back Katherine and Tao were at the door. "We won't come here again, Vicki," Katherine told her. "If you see us, it'll be outside, at night. And only if you look for us."

"Can we do that?" Coreen asked excitedly.

"You can't." Katherine overlapped with Henry's "No!"; she turned to grin at him, eliciting another growl, before continuing, "Henry knows how to find us, if he needs to. Just no more waves, little prince, alright? You may need those bridges you're burning at some point."

"I don't need any help from anyone who consorts with you."

"Yes. Well, we'll see. Tao, let's go."

Surprisingly, Tao looked upset. He hadn't reacted any of the other times she'd said it, but now he was studying her as though betrayed.

She laughed softly, waving him off. "Go on, then."

Beaming, he turned back to Coreen. "Wouldyouliketohavecoffeewithmetomorrow?" he asked, quickly enough that Vicki had to think abut the sentence before she could decipher it.

"No," Henry said firmly.

"Henry!"

"No."

"Tell you what," Vicki said quickly, one hand on Henry's arm, "Tao, you bring the coffee here, and I will be watching and listening to everything you do. Got it?"

"That's fine. That's great." Tao grinned, backing away when Katherine tugged lightly at his sleeve.

"Mind the…" Vicki winced when he hit the doorframe, but he just bounced off and kept going.

She waited until she was sure they were gone to round on Henry. "What was that? You haven't hated anyone that much since you met Mike."

"She's wrong. She's all wrong, she shouldn't…" Henry was pacing, two or three steps across the room and back, movements sharp and angry. "The things they said, the balance, that's not…they're not _people._ They're like gravity. Forces. You don't _see_ them."

"Ok, so they're lying," Vicki suggested. Henry had never, in the year since she'd known him, been so lost for words, and it physically hurt to see him.

"No." He laughed softly. "No, the power in her…she can't be anything but what she claims. But she can't be that, either."

"Are you sure?" Vicki asked.

"No," he said abruptly. "I have to go. Eat."

"Henry…"

"Be careful tomorrow."

She nodded slowly. "We will."

He touched her face, very lightly. "Promise?" he asked quietly.

"I promise," she said sincerely, covering his hand with her own. "We'll be here tomorrow night, both of us."

He was gone in the next heartbeat; she took a deep breath, turning to Coreen. "I don't think I'm sleeping tonight. Might as well get a bit of work done. Can you find the Ryan file?"

Coreen nodded hesitantly, turning away, and Vicki allowed herself three breaths to panic before shoving it away, refusing to think of what she'd seen in Henry's eyes in that heartbeat.

Henry was terrified.

* * *

Tao turned up just before noon, carefully balancing three plain black coffees and several sweeteners and creamers. "I wasn't sure how you took it," he said apologetically.

"Where's your shadow?" Vicki asked, taking a cup.

"Away. Her Hunter called. She'll be back by tonight."

"Oh? Where's she going?"

"Montana," he said absently. Blinking, he added quickly, "So, private eye? That must be exciting."

Coreen managed to keep the conversation on that topic for nearly ten minutes before Vicki chimed back in. "So, Tao, what do you do?"

"I'm a student," he said easily. "Herbology and natural healing, mostly. Bits and pieces of other things."

"Where do you study?"

"All over. I travel a lot."

Vicki nodded. "With Katherine."

"Sometimes. Sometimes on my own, or with other friends." Vicki raised an eyebrow, and he added, "I have other friends."

"Normal friends? So to speak?"

"Mmm. Not so much. It's tough, when you know what we know, to have other people who don't."

Vicki leaned forward, abandoning the pose of disinterest. "How old is she?"

"Vicki!" Coreen protested.

"It's fine," Tao assured her. To Vicki, he continued, "We're not really sure. We tried to work it out, a few times, but the calendars have changed and she's not always good at remembering things."

"How long have the Taos been following her?"

He thought about that one for a minute, counting on his fingers. "Maybe four thousand years? I knew her before that; I was still following Curupira, sort of, when we met."

Vicki frowned. "You were following?"

"Tao was."

"That's not what you said. You said I."

"Vicki, give it a rest! You're retired, remember?" Coreen turned back to Tao. "I'm sorry. She's not usually this bad."

"We knew she would be," Tao told her. "I don't mind, anyway."

"Hey, I know. What's your name?" Coreen asked quickly, cutting Vicki off.

"Tao."

"No, your real name."

"Tao," he repeated.

"Tao's your title."

"Also my name. My name is always Tao."

"I'm…sorry?"

"Tao's always me," he repeated patiently. "People reincarnate all the time. They just usually don't remember; a little déjà vu, maybe. But I've always remembered."

"For four thousand years?" Vicki demanded.

"Most of it. I've gotten very good at not thinking about the past unless I have to."

"And you've always followed Katherine? All that time?"

"Most of it. Sometimes I leave for a lifetime or two." He leaned forward, holding Vicki's gaze. "But I keep going back to her."

"Who's Curupira?" Coreen asked suddenly. "The name's familiar."

"Curupira held the balance between animals and men. She had a Champion to help her, her Beastmaster, and I followed him. I wasn't hers except by proxy. He reincarnates, too, but he has chosen not to remember. Curupira was overthrown by the demon of the sea and the mist and when that demon faded, Katherine took the responsibility."

"Henry says that the balances are not personified. That Katherine shouldn't exist."

"Well he's right on one of those. Katherine wasn't supposed to be what she is. But the balances used to appear quite often, when people were more accepting of magic. It's true they don't do it now, though; Katherine's the only one still corporeal, and sometimes I think if she had a choice she'd go." He looked up, catching Vicki's eye again. "I can't explain," he added. "She wasn't always what she is. I can't say more than that."

"What about the others?"

"What others?"

"Warrior, Bard and Mage."

He smiled, leaning back in his seat. "I wondered if you'd find that reference. Those three have all joined and left her within the last fifteen years. The Bard was never really hers, not totally; the Mage stayed for three years, and the Warrior for twelve. All are still in contact and none have any grudges." To Coreen, he added quietly, "How am I doing?"

"She hasn't hit you yet."

"Good sign?"

"Not sure yet."

"The other two?" Vicki demanded. "The Hunter and the Councillor? I assume some of these people have actual names."

"They have names," Tao agreed. "One American, one we…one in England. The Hunter's…a little reluctant to join in. Which is fine; it's his choice. The Councillor was activated by accident and has had no involvement with us yet."

"Activated?" Vicki repeated. "They're not machines."

"No. But when someone discovers the balance they're meant to serve, it's like…a key in a lock. Like discovering where you fit." He tilted his head, studying Vicki. "Didn't you feel that with Henry?"

"I don't serve Henry."

"No. But you both serve the same balance. And I know you didn't know what it was until him."

"We don't serve anything!"

"You serve by being what you are. By fighting as you do. Isn't that all Henry's God asks? Be you, just the best you possible."

"That and go to Mass."

He laughed softly. "No Mass for us. Nothing but be who you are."

"What balance?"

"I'm sorry?"

"What balance?"

"For you? You need to ask?" Vicki started to answer, paused, and grimaced. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

"You know what?" Coreen said abruptly, standing up. "This is fascinating and all, but the supervised part of this date is over. Tao, let's go out somewhere?" Tao blinked, and she added, "Unless you don't want to?"

"No, no, I want to! I do, but…I don't really want Henry coming after me."

"It's twenty past twelve in the afternoon. You're safe from Henry for at least another five hours, and we won't be that long."

"Coreen," Vicki protested.

"Bye, Vicki." She tugged at Tao's arm, almost knocking him over in her haste. He snatched up his jacket as he went, leaving the rest of the coffee untouched.

"Bye Vicki!" he called as Coreen yanked him out of the office.

Vicki cursed softly, reaching for her phone. "Hey, Mike? Listen, I need a favour…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Coreen was back within an hour, but she refused to tell Vicki what they'd talked about or where they'd gone. "You should tell Mike to be more careful, though," she added. "I saw him drive past at least four times. If he's going to spy on us, he should be a bit more subtle about it."

"I'm sure he just had business in the area."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I have filing to do." She turned away, focusing on her work.

"Coreen…"

"I have work," she repeated firmly.

Vicki bit her lip. "Did you find out anything?"

"I found out he's a very nice person and he likes me. That good enough for you?"

"Coreen…"

"Look, we stayed in public places, Mike watched us. We just didn't talk about any of that stuff. We were on a date." She turned back to the filling cabinet, slamming the drawers open and closed with far more force than necessary.

Henry arrived seven minutes after sunset…a personal best for him…but he hesitated at the door, obviously picking up on Coreen's mood. "Evening."

"Hi." She slammed another drawer closed.

Henry sidestepped her, moving to perch on the corner on Vicki's desk. "What's…"

"Don't ask." She sat back, pulling off her glasses. "You ok?"

"Hmm. What happened?"

"With Tao? Nothing. He came, we drank coffee…"

"That's it?"

"Yeah. Oh, want to hear a good one? He says he's the original Tao. Apparently he's just been reincarnating for the last four thousand years or so."

"Reincarnating," Henry repeated. "That makes a certain amount of sense."

"Does it?"

He nodded. "Everyone generates a certain amount of energy over their lives. People who reincarnate carry a little of that energy over, more if they remember. If Tao's reincarnated eighty times, he's carrying a lot of energy. That's what I was sensing about him."

Vicki nodded, pushing back her chair and rising to stand in front of him. "We're fine," she said quietly. "I really don't think they want to hurt us." Studying him, she added, deliberately light, "Annoy us, maybe."

Henry smiled faintly. "Maybe."

"Little prince?"

"Don't start."

"Vicki?" Coreen called suddenly, voice high and alarmed. Vicki turned automatically, but Henry was already gone.

Tao was standing just on the other side of the main door, hands raised in surrender. "I'm sorry," he said quickly when he saw Vicki. "I didn't want to come. Katherine sent me with a message for Henry."

"This is what her promise is worth?" Henry snapped.

Tao glanced over his shoulder for an instant, and his eyes were very wide when he looked back at Henry. "Do you want the message?"

"I want nothing from her."

"What's the message?" Vicki said.

Tao's eyes flickered to her, though he was still addressing Henry. "She says that your bastard cousins are in town, and she needs to know if you will take care of it, or if she should."

"Can she?"

"If she has to."

Henry shook his head quickly. "I'll do it."

"Henry?" Vicki said softly.

"It's nothing. I'll be back soon."

"I'll come."

"No," he said sharply. "Stay here. I won't be long. Tao, let's go."

"Katherine's waiting for me," he said uneasily. Henry caught his arm, dragging him out and ignoring his protests.

"Damnit!" Vicki hissed. "One of these nights he's going to explain something, and I'm going to faint."

"I wouldn't tell him that." Coreen was paging rapidly through one of the books on her desk. "Here."

"Here, what?"

"Dr Sagara lent me this. It's a diary kept by a vampire contempory with Christina, a few years before Henry was turned. In it this vampire talks about travelling a lot, all the supernatural things he encountered…among them creatures he considered sub-species of vampires."

"Sub-species," Vicki repeated, paging through the book.

"Well, maybe Henry's a sub-species. Who knows. But there's three or four different kinds who are basically the same—drink blood, stake through the heart, super senses—but have differences, too; the others stay awake during the day, some can even walk in the sun. They all have strengths and weaknesses."

"Bastard cousins," Vicki said with a sigh. "Can I borrow this?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Just be careful with it; it's five hundred years old."

"Yeah," Vicki said absently, wandering back into her office.

***

Katherine was waiting ten blocks from the office; Henry slowed to a halt, watching her, while Tao automatically joined her. "I thought your cousins avoided your cities, little prince," she said, touching Tao's arm lightly. "This is what the Slayers wanted, you know. I don't know if I can block them now."

"You can if I kill all of them," Henry said with a snarl. "Where are they?"

She glanced at Tao. "Go home. Call Dean and tell him what's going on. I'll be home soon."

"Katherine," he protested.

"Go home," she said more firmly. Turning to Henry, she reeled off an address on the outskirts of town. "I'm coming," she added.

"No."

"Yes, little prince, I'm coming. I'm trying to keep the Slayers out, remember? Let me do it."

"I'm not waiting for you," he warned her.

"You won't have to. Tao, go _home_. I'll be there soon, I promise."

Tao turned away, heading for the more populated areas of town, and she looked back at Henry. "Let's run, little prince."

"Try to keep up," he suggested, turning away.

***

Katherine wasn't…exactly…supporting him when they came back to Vicki's office, but she was hovering fairly closely and he seemed to have given up on getting rid of her.

"Henry!" Vicki said as soon as she saw them. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." He twitched open his jacket to show her the bloody stain just over his ribs. "Healed right up. I'm fine."

"Vicki, may I use your phone?" Katherine asked politely. "I fell on mine."

"You _fell_ on it?" she repeated. "Sure, go ahead."

"Thank you."

"Vampires?" she asked Henry softly.

"Some people call them that, yes. It's not a problem, they're gone now."

"Just like that?"

Henry brushed some dust off his jacket. "More or less. They tend to avoid the cities we populate. These were newborns, barely aware of what they were."

"Dean," Katherine said quietly, "everything's fine. Call off the alarm, ok?"

"So you guys just killed them? I thought she was supposed to be keeping the balance."

"No, really. Everything's fine. Don't try crossing the border, you're on the watch list."

Henry shrugged. "We were fighting."

"I'll be with you three days from now, alright? Just stay where you are." She hung up without saying goodbye, turning back to eye Henry. "You fight well."

"As I was trained."

"Hmm."

"Thanks for your help," Vicki said abruptly.

"You're welcome."

"Why did you help, again?"

Katherine smiled faintly. "To keep the Slayers out. I've told you that."

"Yes, but why is that so important?"

"Because if they come here, Henry will leave. Or be forced out; same result. And my balance demands you, this team, not them."

"Why?" Henry asked intently. "Their resources are better."

"Yes, maybe, but their grasp of secrecy is not. Tao was a little inexact, I think, when he explained this to you."

"He didn't explain anything."

"Yes, that may be the problem," she agreed. "My responsibility is to see that people don't know about our world if it can be avoided at all. You've only six or seven people, here, who know enough to be any kind of threat. That's acceptable. The Slayers tend to be noticeable. Everyone knows about them. That's not so acceptable. I've been restricting them for twenty years, now, and the only reason I'm getting away with it is that I'm not blocking them when they're needed. Only if there's other guardians, other protectors or warriors or whatever. This city is safe, and the Slayers are not needed. I won't give them any chance if I can avoid it."

"Can you avoid it?" Vicki asked.

Katherine smiled. "The Slayers aren't mine, but they're usually willing to listen to my…suggestions. And I now have proof that Henry can handle his…" Henry raised an eyebrow, and she amended, "Those guys. If they come back. Which they shouldn't; any vampire over a couple months old will know that Henry's here, and they won't risk it."

"What kind of vampires were they?" Coreen asked.

"Walk in day but burn in sun, strength and senses close to Henry's. But no soul. When they bite someone they kill them, and a demon moves into the body. They're less alive than those boxers you dealt with." She shrugged at Coreen's look. "I don't have another name. They're all just called vampires."

"Pale imitations," Henry muttered.

"Yes. Quite literally, little prince." To Vicki, she added, "Almost universally, the other vampires are pale as snow after turning. It's not always noticeable, because of the, y'know, night time, but it's there."

"It's fascinating, really," Henry drawled. "I do love family reunions."

"You hate family reunions. You nearly killed Christina," Vicki reminded him.

"Mothers and sons have such complicated relationships," Katherine said lightly. "And on that note I'm going to leave."

"I think it's wise," Vicki agreed. "Are you leaving town?"

"Three days. There's a couple things I need to get sorted out first."

"Like Dean?"

"Dean mostly takes care of himself. I don't tend to worry about him much. Tao, now, has a habit of tripping over dust mites…so I'm gonna go make sure he's alright. I'll see you 'round."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure you will."

Henry went after her, crowding her into a corner of the hall. "You don't come back here again."

"Not your call, little prince."

"Yes, my call. My city. My rules."

"Your…" she glanced towards Vicki's door, smiling when Henry snarled. "What is it exactly you hate about me, Henry?"

"It's your magic," Vicki said from the door when he didn't answer.

"My _magic_? Why?"

"He's not a big fan."

Katherine took two steps forward; Henry retreated unwillingly, moving out of her path. "Not a fan of magic. Vicki, how do you feel about air?"

"They're not comparable," Henry snapped before Vicki could answer.

"They sort of are. Magic forms you, little prince. Your heart doesn't beat, your lungs don't breathe, your blood doesn't flow. What did you think kept you upright, besides your formidable will?"

Tao was behind her suddenly, one hand on her shoulder; she didn't react, watching Henry carefully.

"Your power comes from dark magic."

"No. Magic is not dark or light, it just is. _People__,_ well, people can be one or the other, or both. Mostly both. But magic simply is."

Henry shook his head sharply, but he didn't speak and after a moment Tao murmured, "Let's go, Kath."

"Coming," she told him. "Henry…"

"Leave," Henry growled, eyes dark and voice deep, and she nodded.

"Yeah. I'm going. Just…try and be a little more open, ok? A few bad experiences does not mean that all magic is bad."

"Katherine, you're not helping yourself," Tao said firmly. "Let's go. Why do you always have to preach?"

"It's a failing," Katherine agreed lightly, letting him tug her away. "I just can't help myself."

"You might want to learn," Tao said seriously.

The door clicked shut before Vicki could hear an answer; Henry listened for another several seconds before looking back at her.

"Annoying little girl, isn't she?" Vicki said, deliberately light. Henry laughed softly, holding out a hand to direct her back into her office.

***

Vicki told Coreen not to bother coming in the next morning; they rarely had walk-ins in the morning, and there were no cases so crucial that they had to be dealt with first thing. They agreed on "about one-ish" and Coreen offered to get the coffee on her way in.

So Vicki hadn't really been expecting voices as she approached the office, although when she recognised them she thought maybe she should have. The door was ajar; when she leaned carefully against it she could see Katherine leaning against Coreen's desk, leafing idly through a book there, and Tao wandering back and forth in front of her.

"Is this really smart?" he asked.

"He'll chase us," she said without looking up. "More waves, more noise. This is better."

"But not smart."

"Not smart," she agreed. "Do you know," she added conversationally, "I had to sic Sam on Dean to get him to stay south of the border? He was all for coming up here and breaking us out."

"Out of what? They're not exactly holding us here; Henry'd be happy to never see you again."

"I didn't ask. It just never pays."

Tao smiled suddenly. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you."

"Yes." She laid the book aside, watching him.

"I think I might stay."

"Alright."

"I think I could learn a lot here, and I could keep an eye out, and I know the Slayers aren't happy about this and I could keep them informed, or, not informed but what you want me to tell them, and…"

He ran out of breath, and Katherine said mildly, "You don't have to explain yourself to me, Tao. You know that."

"I thought I'd practise on you."

"Oh? Feel any better?"

"Not really. Why don't you do it? He doesn't scare you."

"Is that what you think? You should probably talk to Coreen first, though. Make sure she wouldn't object before you go anywhere near Henry."

"I don't wanna," Tao muttered sulkily, slouching against the wall.

Katherine smiled, touching his cheek lightly. Vicki closed her eyes against the tenderness in that touch, feeling oddly as though she were intruding in her own office. "He won't hurt you, you know."

"Because he can't."

"No, because he won't. Henry's a good soul. He chooses to be what he is every day. It's no easier for him than it is for us, and often harder."

"It can't be harder for him to be a good person than it is for you to be a person."

"You'd be surprised."

Tao shifted away from her touch, fiddling with the seam of his sweatshirt. "Dean wants me to warn him."

"You can warn him if you want." She picked up the book again. "He won't thank you."

"Not now. He might in a few years."

"Maybe," Katherine agreed, voice suddenly distant. "You should decide, though. Vicki and Coreen are almost here."

Vicki glanced over her shoulder as the outer door opened. "Hey," Coreen said in surprise. "Running late?"

"Yeah." She pushed the door open, deliberately hesitating when Katherine looked up.

"Morning."

"Henry's right. Your promise doesn't mean much."

"We can't wait until this evening, unfortunately. I'm sorry." She retreated when Vicki stepped forward, backing up to stand next to Tao.

"Oh? What's the problem, alligators in the sewers?"

"No, nothing like that. Your city's fine." She glanced at Tao as he edged past her to murmur to Coreen. "I'm leaving town, and I didn't want you guys worrying about why I wasn't around."

"How thoughtful of you," Vicki said dryly.

"Henry would have thought we were plotting," Katherine said quietly. "You know he would. If he's ever going to trust me—and I know that's unlikely after last night, but I have hope—I can't hide anything from him, even something like this."

"I notice you said _you _were leaving town."

"Caught that," Katherine murmured, glancing at Tao; he was talking animatedly with Coreen and paying no attention to her. "If Henry agrees, Tao'll be staying here."

"Why?"

"Because he wants to. Consider him a hostage against my good behaviour, if you like."

Tao stumbled over his words—whatever else he was doing, he'd heard that—but he didn't turn or stop talking to Coreen.

"Why Henry?" Vicki said quietly.

"Oh. Because it's his town. Leaving Tao here smacks of interference." She glanced at Tao again. "He'll leave if you ask him to. Tao, I gotta go."

She hadn't raised her voice, but he looked up anyway. "Already?"

"Yeah, they're getting impatient." She held out a hand to pull him into a hug, pushing him back lightly so she could meet his eyes. "I'm not far."

Tao rolled his eyes. "I'm a big boy now. I can handle a few weeks…" His gaze slid to Coreen. "Or months. Years…"

"Just promise me one thing?" She pressed her thumb against his chin, just below his lower lip. "Three lifetimes were more than enough. No metal?"

He laughed softly. "No metal."

She smiled, pushing him lightly back towards Coreen and turning to leave. Vicki blinked, suddenly realising what was happening. "Katherine."

She didn't stop or turn and Vicki chased her into the hall, letting the door close behind her. "That was goodbye. I mean, that was really goodbye. Why are you saying goodbye to Tao?"

Katherine paused, one hand on the door, and smiled wistfully. "Because he's leaving me."

She was gone before Vicki could say anything; the door clicked quietly closed, and she sighed before turning back into her office.


End file.
